FA Considers Retrospective Punishment For Divers To Push Simulation Out Of Game

The FA will consider "taking retrospective action against players guilty of diving in an attempt to push simulation and exaggeration out of the game," according to Paul Kelso of the London TELEGRAPH. Diving has been a "recurrent theme in recent seasons." The issue is of increasing concern to referees and the professional leagues, "who are conscious that it damages the game’s reputation." But the possibility of taking retrospective action "has always been resisted because of fears it would lead to 're-refereeing' of matches." FA Dir of Governance and Regulation Dan Bailey said he would consider a “regulatory response” to diving if it received the backing of the whole game. Bailey: "We are keeping a very close eye on simulation and exaggeration. What we would like to see is collectively the game as a whole taking responsibility for getting rid of that. We would like to see the managers and players say ‘this is not acceptable’, and see it squeezed out that way. But if it gets to the stage where it is not [dealt with] we have made it fairly clear we will need to consider a regulatory intervention, and that will have to be at a fairly high level” (TELEGRAPH, 2/26).